Quick wits not fast fists, say club guardians

Nightclub managers say having a female bouncer, such as Michelle Nack, of the Knox Club, can dampen the potential for violence.
Picture: Shannon Morris

Bouncers say that violence is a last resort, reports Stephen Moynihan.

It has just hit midnight on Thursday night, and Fitzroy Street, St Kilda, is quiet. Cafe and restaurant tables that are usually full of patrons sit empty. There are a few people walking the footpath, and the few nightclubs that are open have a handful of patrons standing outside the doors.

Outside the door of one nightclub stands Dee, a doorman aged in his 20s. Wearing a camel-coloured jacket, jeans and trainers, he stands casting his eyes across the streetscape.

Dee does not fit the stereotypical look of a bouncer. He's not small, by any means, but he emits a docile vibe.

He is polite, quiet, and the only giveaway that separates him from the clubbers lining up is the security number that hangs off a chain around his neck.

Tonight is slow, unusual for pay day. There are about 40 people inside the club and a few stragglers outside having a chat to Dee and the female doorperson.

Dee says he usually does not get much trouble, and when he does it's more often people walking past the club's entrance than those he does not let inside.

"It's just about keeping your cool and letting them tell their side of the story," says Dee.

He says that he can usually sum up a potential troublemaker quickly.

"You can just tell if they're intoxicated or swaying, the way they speak or act," he says.

"Usually, you can just smell the alcohol off them."

Dee says he doesn't get much trouble. There might be a stand-off, but when he denies entrance to the club, that's it.

"It just comes down to respect - I listen to what they have to say, and I just talk to them as I would anyone else," he says.

Alan Latu, director of SPL Security - a Melbourne-based company - says a good bouncer is more brains than brawn. "It's not about who can fight the best, but who can think the quickest," says Mr Latu.

It's all about having the right temperament, he says.

A good bouncer needs to quickly assess a potentially violent situation and be able to defuse it without violence or inconvenience.

So when is it appropriate for force to be used?

"It's my safety, as well. However, everybody else's safety comes before mine, but as soon as I feel unsafe doing it, that is when the situation may change," says Mr Latu.

Female bouncers have become a force on the city's nightclubs and pub doors.

"If you've got two guys on the door, and five guys walk up and they don't get let in, than it becomes all this mano-to-mano stuff," he says. "But if you have a female on the door, the guys will just call her a cow or a bitch and walk away."

One female bouncer told The Sunday Age that she had more trouble from female patrons than males.

"Girls check each other out, and it's more of a power thing with the girls. The guys will just call you names and walk away, but the girls will have more of a go," she said.

She says she enjoys working the door. There's usually enough entertainment on Fitzroy Street to keep boredom at bay.

Mr Latu says the mix of female and male bouncers works well. Usually the woman will deal with most issues by talking to the patron, but there is always a visible male presence.

So for Dee it's coming towards the end of a long night. There has not been much trouble, he's caught up with a few regulars and is looking forward to going home to bed.